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CLERK, SIR GEORGE RUSSELL (1800-1889), diplomat, son of John Clerk, entered the service of the East India Company as a writer in 1817. After various appointments in Calcutta, Rajputana and Delhi, he became political agent at Ambala in 1831. He was appointed agent to the Governor General at the North-West Frontier Agency in 1840. In this capacity, he shaped British policy towards the Sikhs during the days following the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. For almost a decade, as political agent at Ambala, he had been responsible for British political relations with the cis Sutlej states.

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BISHAN SINGH, a general in the Sikh army, was the adopted son of Jamadar Khushal Singh, the royal chamberlain (deorhidar). He received his education at the Ludhiana Mission School across the AngloSikh frontier. In 1848, when stationed at Pind Dadan Khan, Bishan Singh was ordered to move his troops to assist Herbert Edwardes, the British resident`s assistant at Bannu, who was then marching against Diwan Mul Raj at Multan. A few months after, his troops revolted and joined the insurrectionists, but Bishan Singh sided with the British and joined Lord Gough`s camp. For this he was rewarded with a pension by the British government.

BROADFOOT, GEORGE (1807-1845) Joined service of the East India Company as a cadet in the Madras Native Infantry in 1826. In May 1841, he went to Kabul in command of the escort which accompanied the families of Shah Shuja` and Zaman Shah. He took part in the first Afghan war and distinguished himself in the Khaibar operations under General Pollock. In 1844, he was appointed Agent to the Governor General at the North-West Frontier Agency. The appointment was not liked by the Sikh Government. Major George Broadfoot was impulsive by nature and had a temperamental hostility towards the Sikhs.